Greetings, all!
My two problems with "slackware 13,"*
stated as simply as possible, are as follows: After the succesful install of slackware13 to my external usb drive (/dev/sdb), I could not: 1) boot said Slackware13 installation with the Slackware13 installation DVD due to kernel panic issues. 2) I cannot boot the system with the usb flashdrive that was created with the Slackware13 installation DVD due to kernel panic issues.
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Problem origin:
I wanted more of a challenge than the more popular distros, so I installed slackware13 as described in the next few sentences.
I connected a spare external USB drive to my computer, which became /dev/sdb. I partitioned sdb and then installed slackware13 onto it. My reading of slackware13 indicated that I would have to boot into slackware13 first, run the grub config program which would create a /boot/grub/menu.lst. This was and is my plan, but alas, since I cannot boot slackware13, (not even with the flashdrive created by slackware13) I am at a standstill with slackware13.

The goal
Use grub to boot slackware from a connected external USB drive (/dev/sdb). Append grub's menu.lst from /dev/sda to the menu.lst of /dev/sdb, followed by the setup of grub on sdb. Since grub is already installed on /dev/sda, all systems on either /dev/sda or /dev/sdb (the external USB drive is sdb) would then boot sans any problems. This works with everything be it Ubuntu, Suse or Tinycore.

Troubleshooting completed thus far:
--skimmed more than 10 pages of this forum and read several
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--visited Google
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--set the flashdrive syslinux config from root=dev/sdb5 to /dev/sdc5, which failed

--set the flashdrive syslinux config from root=/dev/sdb5 to root=UUID=12e44-... which failed
Visited the syslinux wiki, which failed also.
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--attempted to chainload syslinux after copying it to a bootable partition.
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--Attempted to make a LILO boot floppy
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--Attempted a simple install of LILO from the DVD, no luck with the world's most difficult bootloader.
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Attempted to install LILO to the root of the boot partion, which failed.
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Wiped the disk, sdb, and then created a multiple partition scheme where sdb1 (a bootable primary partition) was made root. Attempted to install LILO to the the root of sdb1 as per the installer's directions. This failed too.

Other questions:
Does slackware give one the option of where to install lilo if I had to use it?
Would the installation of Lilo on /dev/sdb adversely affect the grub install on /dev/sda?
If absolutely necessary, is it common or possible to successfully chainload lilo using grub?
can I chainload grub with lilo?
Thanks for any help

Some versions of grub will not boot a slackware formatted partition. How did you format the drive? If you formatted it during the install of slackware 13, try installing lilo to the root partition of slackware during the installation and chainload from grub, or try formatting from the distro that you grub is in first, then select no to format the drive during the slackware install, since it is already formated, and boot directly from grub.

To add to what colorpurple wrote, Slackware 13 defaults to ext4 when setting up the disk. From what I read, you need grub2 to support ext4. Sounds like you might have grub/ext4 issue.

Thanks for the reply!

I formatted everything with a different distro's gparted. I've boot ext4 with legacy grub on other distros. I formatted everything as you suggested before posting because it was easier than using cfdisk, which I use as a last resort.

I'd need help installing LILO. It is way alien to me and unintelligible to me even after I read the readme stuff found in the DVD's root file. It fails to install to root, floppy and I will not put LILO on a MBR.

I think I need to learn the grub config & build initrd stuff first because at least that is on my level if I could find it though. Any ideals?
thanks again.

Thanks for responding
Oh I wish it were a grub issue then it would be intelligible to me, which is not to say I am a grub expert. Legacy grub has never given me ext4 trouble. Legacy grub boots everything.

My intended course of action (unless advised otherwise)is to:
1) setup everything as ext3
2) learn to setup the grubconfig stuff in Slackware.
3) Run grubconfig install grub and append a menu.lst
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Does anyone know the location of the grubconfig help file should I fail to find it?
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Apparently, there is a way to get a shell immediately after installation. Is it ALT-F1
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well everybody, it's time to finish laundry,reformat some partitions to ext3, copy some help files and reinstall a distro. I should be off line for a couple.
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Again, thanks for the replies to everybody. I'll all informed of my progress.

slackware's standard install doesn't come with grub installed only lilo, however slackware's grub package is located in /extra/grub on slackware mirrors if you want to install it.

I don't get it, why not just add slackware boot entries into menu.lst of already installed grub in /dev/sda - if, of course, there is another distro already installed. Slackware installation DVD can also be used to boot into an installed system - brief how-to is on the first screen of the installer.

(Posted by an unexperienced user)

Thanks, color21859[
However, as you can see from the first three lines of my post, which appear as a quote above this sentence, installation is impossible. One must boot before installing things.

To reiterate, slackware13 has never been bootable. LILO now (finally)installs to the root of sdb1, which is bootable partition. However, neither the instllation DVD, nor the syslinux flashdrive (created with Slackware, I might add) will boot this system. Everybody keeps responding with ways to install something when the system has never been bootable be it reiser, ext4 or ext3.
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I've taken multi-booting and grub for granted until now. I've never had so many problems doing nothing. The exasperatingly incomplete documentation on the DVD is the reason.
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Thanks, anyway

Veeall
Greetings,
The two-part answer to your question is as follows: 1) It is that simple in distros other than slackware. Were it that simple of a task in slackware, there would not be so many post Google concerning grub and Slackware. 2) Please see the first three lines this post, which I believed you missed despite the 3" bold font that preceded them. For your convenience, they appear at the top of this reply too. We all miss things sometimes.

To any who would post:
Please understand that I need to make an installation of slackware 13 (currently installed on an external usb drive) bootable.
I'd prefer grub, but I'd settle for LILO doing it's job.
Problems:
1) The system claims that LILO was installed to the bootable superblock, yet the system does not boot
2)The bootable syslinux flashdrive, created by Slackware13 fails to function, exiting with err=1 invalid compression.
3) The DVD is incapable of booting hugemap or the similarly named kernel
4) Installing LILO to a usb floppy disk always fails.
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thanks again for the responses.

When you chainload from grub to lilo it doesn't work or do you get to the lilo prompt and it dosen't boot slackware?

No, you see, LILO does not function, period. It does not boot, period. Nothing boots. For me to consider chainloading, LILO would have to boot slackware. It does not, period.
Since the install of LILO returned no errors, I can only assume that it installed successfully. I think a prompt indicated as much. I would successfully chainload if LILO ever functioned. Dido for the syslinux flashdrive & booting from install DVD
Thanks
again

so neither one of these grub entries work:
to chainload:
rootnoverify (hd1,0) #or maybe (hd1)
chainloader +1
or directly from grub
root (hd1,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sdb1 #or maybe root=/dev/hdb1

There would be no point in chainloading that which cannot boot on its own. Remember that LILO does not function despite the fact that is installed.

on the system you have on your internal harddrive mount the slackware partition and copy /boot/vmlinuz-huge-smp-2.6.?-smp from the slackware partition to the /boot of the system on your internel hardrive. Point your grub to the file and set the /dev/root of the kernel line to the external harddrive.

I'll give this a shot tomorrow then report back although I have misgivings.
My BIOS (excluding Slackware & this post) has consistently booted sdb, which is an external USB hard drive, be it tinycore, BSD or anything in between.
Thanks again

My scenario has always been like that:
I have two slackware versions on different partitions, when i install new version i do not install lilo nor grub instead i'm going to populate my existing menu.lst with new boot entries. I guessed this to be simplest workaround to your problem also if this another grub is capable of booting an ext4 partition.

I can't see why 'booting with slack dvd' method doesn't work(?).